Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: In his first full season with Saginaw after splitting the previous season between the Spirit and Belleville, Ed Pasquale saw a lot of rubber. His resolve in the face of nightly barrages is what no doubt attracted the attention of the Thrashers scouts. He finished the regular season with a record of 27-17 with five OT losses and a 3.11 GAA and .911 save percentage, earning third-team OHL All-star honors. His playoff numbers weren’t as good 3.85 GAA and .895 save % in eight games as Saginaw advanced to the second round. He was named Player of the Game for Team Cherry at the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game and displayed an ability to step up in marquee situations.

2009-10: Once again Pasquale was one of the busier goalies in the OHL, facing over 1800 shots in 51 games for Saginaw. While his numbers were a bit inflated (3.17 GAA .916 save percentage), he did win 27 games versus 17 losses and five OT losses. Pasquale was at his best in the playoffs as Saginaw faced the more talented Kitchener Rangers. Despite facing nearly 40 shots per game in the six game series, Pasquale kept his team in each game and finished with a GAA of 2.33 and stopped over 94 percent of the shots faced. Spent time with Chicago in the AHL following the OHL season but did not appear in any games.

2010-11: Pasquale got off to a strong start in his first pro season, taking on extra work for the Chicago Wolves after starter Peter Mannino was recalled to Atlanta to cover for Ondrei Pavelec’s unexpected collapse. Pasquale started 24 games in total for the Wolves in the AHL, his final stats recorded at 2.93 GAA and a .900 save percentage. Although his initial showing in the AHL was quite promising, he was sent down to the ECHL when Mannino returned. Over the course of the season with the Gwinnett Gladiators in the ECHL, Pasquale was regularly lit up playing behind a porous defense and the effect on his confidence showed when he returned to the AHL later in the year. While posting a winning 7-4 record with the Gladiators, Pasquale recorded a hefty 3.69 GAA in 12 starts and just a .898 save percentage.

2011-12: Pasquale appeared in a team-high 38 games with Winnipeg AHL affiliate St. John’s while splitting the goaltending duties with veteran David Aebischer. He was 23-13 with 1 loss in overtime and 4 shutouts and had a 2.41 goals against and .911 save percentage. The IceCaps finished first in the Atlantic Division and reached the East Conference finals. Pasquale appeared in all 15 playoff games and was 7-8 with a 2.42 goals against and .923 save percentage.

2012-13: Pasquale appeared in 43 games for Jets’ AHL affiliate St. John’s in his third pro season. He was 15-23-4 with 4 shutouts and had a 2.79 goals against and .907 save percentage. The IceCaps missed the playoffs after finishing last in the Atlantic Division. Pasquale was re-signed by Winnipeg to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent in July 2013.

2013-14: Pasquale played for Jets’ AHL affiliate St. John’s in his fourth pro season. In 31 regular season games for the IceCaps he was 17-13-1 with one shutout and had a 2.43 goals against and .920 save percentage before suffering a season-ending “lower body” injury. St. John’s finished second in the Atlantic Division and captured the Eastern Conference championship in the playoffs; falling to Texas in the Calder Cup finals. Acquired by Washington in a trade in June on the second day of the 2014 NHL Draft, he was re-signed to a one-year contract by Washington as a restricted free agent in July 2014.

Talent Analysis

Pasquale has solid NHL netminder size and has shown an aptitude for positional play. He relies on his glove hand, which is very quick, to make saves or control the puck. He has shown the ability to increase his level of play to match the level of the opposition and plays with a calm demeanor regardless of the situation. Pasquale has been durable during his AHL career before suffering an injury at the end of the 2013-14 season.

Future

Pasquale was invited to the Montreal Canadiens 2015-16 training camp as a free agent; subsequently signing an AHL contract with the St. John's IceCaps. He started the season with the ECHL's Brampton Beast before being recalled by St. John's in November. Pasquale has had success at the AHL level during his pro career but injuries have hampered his career to this point.

Photo: Defenseman Nate Schmidt is one of several mobile defensemen in the Washington Capitals system. Schmidt was signed as a free agent in 2013. (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

With opening night having come to pass, the Washington Captials can count two major prospects in the professional level now. Heavily-touted prospects Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov played for the Capitals on opening night of the 2014-15 season against the Montreal Canadiens, with Burakovsky picking up the Capitals first goal of the season.

The Winnipeg Jets concluded their third season since relocation in the same place as the first two; out of the playoffs and seeking to answer organizational questions regarding what it will take to get them out of the middle of the pack and bring playoff hockey to Winnipeg for the first time since 1995.

Photo: Portland Winterhawks’ center Nicolas Petan is the top forward prospect in the Jets spring Top 20 list, trailing only defenseman Josh Morrissey for the top spot (courtesy of Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

The two names that have dominated this list for the past few seasons, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba, have moved on to become key figures in the present setup for the Winnipeg Jets, causing somewhat of a shakeup to the rest of the list.

Photo: Winnipeg 2013 pick Brenden Kichton ranks third in the AHL in scoring amongst defensemen with 28 points through 36 games for the Jets affiliate in St. John’s (courtesy of Terrence Lee/Icon SMI)

With several scattered injuries at the NHL level, including blue chip defenseman Jacob Trouba at one point, no less than seven AHL regulars have seen spot duty with the Winnipeg Jets this season. When not plugging holes at the NHL level, the St. John's IceCaps have provided stingy opposition to the rest of the AHL this season.